Froob For Life #2: Froob Love From Funcom

In this article, I'm going to move more to the technical side of things, and detail some of the new toys that we will get in the upcoming 17.5 patch, as well as take a look at the new armor from 17.4. This is a sneak peek at what Funcom has in store for Froobs, and it looks good! *SPOILER ALERT*

Froob Love From Funcom

Things are movin' right along in Funcom land. It seems that after the release of Lost Eden, the Funcom developers did not want to rest on their laurels and go on vacation. Instead, they started working on some of the sideline projects and ideas that never got attention in the past two years.* From new playfields like Albtraum and Sector 10 to new whizbang toys from the Dreadlochcamps, content production seems to be rolling in high gear. But what about the Froobs?

Well, Silirrion answered that question for us in the announcement about the 17.4 Patch series:

Also one other thing you will start to see filter out over the coming updates is some new itemisation on some of the old Rubi-Ka mobs. These items won't be powerful end-game type items but is something we are starting to do as a little side project that we can use to add some interesting new items to lower level and free players so that there is also some new items for them to seek out. These items won't be 'earth shattering' but they will be useful additions for some players and also lets us start to give people a reason to head out an explore Rubi-Ka a little more.

For 17.4 the Rhinoman population of Rubi-Ka have acquired some new armor items that some might like to collect.

Amazing! I love it when people acknowledge that we froobs exist as a community, especially coming from the keyboard of Silirrion. The froob reaction, from what I could tell, was overwhelmingly positive both in-game and at AOFroobs.com. The reaction even among SLers has been positive, as the new content gives them a reason to hunt in Rubi-Ka again.

As it turns out, the new items that are coming, while not 'earth shattering' to the average SLer, are quite an earthquake for those of us down on Rubi-Ka's firmament.

* of course, they also had to buckle down and fix some of the bugs from Lost Eden. Ah, the work of an AO developer is never done.

Leather is Back! And More Fashionable Than Ever...

Let's take a look at the new Rhinoman Armor, shall we? The Rhinoman Leather armor is based on Stamina and Strength and has this description: "The Rhinoman designed this armor to help them hit stuff harder. They really like to hit things, and like it even more when they can do it harder and faster." Sounds brutish, eh?

There are two great things about this armor, in my opinion. Each piece gives bonuses to various melee-related skills, some of which are rarely seen on a Froob-usable armor piece. For example, before Rhinoman Leather Armor, the only way to get more Multi-melee from armor was to be an Adventurer (Omni-Scout Forest Armor Gloves and some bracers) and/or have a Juggler's Treat. With Rhinoman Leather armor, the Boots and the Sleeves give bonuses to Multi-Melee. Another example, 2-Handed Blunt users greatly lack any sort of buffs to their main attack skill, as opposed to Edged Weapon-using Atroxes who had Silken Legchopper Gloves. Rhinoman Leather Gloves and Jacket boost 2-Handed Blunt. The armor is not as awesome as the AI Combined Armors and Ofab, but it was never meant to replace those top-end armors. Instead, it provides us with a cheap alternative buffing armor that anyone can hunt, and more importantly, that anyone (even a froob) can use.

The other great thing about Rhinoman Leather is the fact that it has no AC holes. While most Rubi-Ka armor tends to be strong against a couple ACs and weak against one to four AC types, Rhinoman Leather has no weaknesses. It has no strengths, either, but for the requirements, this armor provides good protection overall. Note that CAS Symbiotic will have higher ACs for its requirements in Melee, Energy, and Fire, but will have worse ACs for the rest compared to Rhinoman Leather. Rhinoman Leather isn't a substitute for a nice crafted full set of armor, especially since it is in random QLs and does not have a Helmet, but it is a nice alternative.

Of course, there are some drawbacks to this armor. It is NoDrop and only drops from Rhinomen. Since Rhinomen exist in limited levels, there is virtually no way to get a high QL set of this armor (similar to Metallic Mantis). Also, it only gives bonuses to melee skills, which had a lot of Ranged weapon-using froobs grumbling that they didn't get anything. Patience, my friends, because what's coming in the next patch is even better...

*SPOILER ALERT*
If you don't like spoilers and want to see some of the new stuff in 17.5 yourself, do NOT read the rest of this article. You have been warned.

- New Rubi-Ka Armors
o Many mob types between levels 50 and 200 on Rubi-Ka have had their loot tables updated with new armor and items.
o Medussa, Cyborg, Mantis, Aquann, Anvian and Drill have all received the updated loot tables
o There are five new sets of armor available from amongst these mobs. Note that some of the above mob types may drop some, all, or only specific versions of the new armors.
o Some of the mob types also now drop additional items and rings.
o Please note: Not all possible variants of the above mob types have the updated loot tables (for example those mobs used in quests or static dungeons) but for example those found in Rubi-Ka missions do.

From a sneak peek at the Test server database, we learn that the new armor is called "Miy's Armor" and that it comes in a variety of requirements and configurations. Each piece of armor gives a bonus to abilities, Max Health, and evades or NCU, making it similar to Omnified Carbonum Armor or Servants of Eight (without the level lock). Best of all, this armor is NOT NoDrop, unlike Rhinoman Leather, so we can anticipate seeing these on the open market.

Let's take a closer look at the current incarnation of Miy's Armor, shall we? Note that the following information is subject to change, as it is a Test server preview:

The New Rings
The new rings appear to be called the Ring of Essence and Ring of Endurance. They are both buffing rings for Stamina and Strength, but Essence buffs Strength more and Endurance buffs Stamina more. They both require some amount of Strength and Stamina to use. At last, folks won't have to hunt down the very rare, expensive, and Omni-locked Frederickson Micro-kinetic Sleeves.

The New HUD items
The HUD1/HUD3 slots get some new goodies which appear to be froobable. The Nano Targeting Helper increases nuke damage and nano range by a small amount. The Nano Assistant increases heal efficiency and nano range by a small amount. They can be thought of as "scopes for the other folks".

The Future?

With the popular reaction to this new content among Froob and SLer alike, one can only hope that Funcom will continue to add content on Rubi-Ka. Many people are speculating that perhaps there will be more weapons, or possibly upgrades to existing "junk" weapons to bring them up to snuff with current favorites (similar to the Viral Weapon Upgrades in AI).

In the Test server preview database, there is a series of nano programs that appear to be froobable, and are extensions of existing nano-lines. Unlike the new Penumbra nanos that will be released, they don't seem to have an "Ice"-related theme, and they are not (to my knowledge) rewards from the new quests. Since they weren't announced, they might be some content added for a future patch series. Again, these names and nanos are subject to change, as they are from the test server database:
* The Great Explorer (Advy Adventuring Skill buff)
* Superior Hold Victim (Agent root)
* Improved Rule of One (Crat nuke)
* Team Health Plan (Doc team heal)
* Greater Fortify (Enforcer Absorb)
* Master's Repairs (Engi bot heal)
* Advanced Medical Claim (Fixer HoT)
* Enlightened Healing Touch (MA heal)
* Metiang's Improved Mind Quake (MP nuke/debuff)
* Advanced Fleeting Immunity (NT Absorb)
* Full Automatic Targeting (Soldier AAO buff)
* Improved Health Plunder (Trader Health Plunder)

I, as a froob, am grateful for the additional new content that is being added to enrich our gaming experience. We froobs will be anxiously awaiting these and other new toys. In short... We want more phats! *grin*

Hahnsoo hails from the Rome Blue Advanced shop, where he hides inside booths as a Leet, hoping that no one would notice him.